Science

Sometimes, you work tirelessly on a problem, only to realise you have been going about it all backwards. Imagine trying to fit a massive antique piano through a tiny doorway. You have tried everything – rotating it, removing the legs, forceful shoving – but you just can’t get it to fit. Eventually, you realise it

Why interdisciplinary science is needed more than ever – Physics World Skip to main content Discover more from Physics World Copyright © 2026 by IOP Publishing Ltd and individual contributors Read the original article here

HELSINKI — Three Chinese astronauts arrived at Tiangong space station Sunday, with one crewmember expected to become China’s first to stay in orbit for an entire year. The Long March 2F rocket carrying the Shenzhou-23 spacecraft lifted off at 11:08 a.m. Eastern (1508 UTC; 11:08 p.m. Beijing time) May 24 from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch

The intensity of politically induced anger and disgust may be what spurs people to protest Ian Francis/Alamy If the emotional rollercoaster of global politics feels overwhelming, the findings of a new study might help to explain why. Emotions evoked by political issues seem to be felt differently in the body than when the same emotions

Back to the Moon: inside the Artemis II mission – Physics World Skip to main content Discover more from Physics World Copyright © 2026 by IOP Publishing Ltd and individual contributors Read the original article here

WASHINGTON — Blue Origin has completed the investigation into the failure on the third flight of its New Glenn rocket, clearing launches of the vehicle to resume. In a May 22 statement, Blue Origin said the Federal Aviation Administration approved its report investigating the April 19 launch of New Glenn on the NG-3 mission. During

Health officials working to tackle Bundibugyo virus in the Democratic Republic of the Congo on 21 May Michel Lunanga/Getty Images A new mRNA vaccine has been developed that may provide long-term protection against the deadliest viruses in the Ebola family – including the Bundibugyo strain currently spreading in two African countries. Over 600 people are

New bolometer achieves sub-zeptojoule resolution – Physics World Skip to main content Discover more from Physics World Copyright © 2026 by IOP Publishing Ltd and individual contributors Read the original article here

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Space Force awarded satellite operators Viasat and SES contracts worth a combined $437.6 million to build communications satellites for a new military network designed to withstand jamming and cyber attacks. The contracts, announced May 22, are part of the Protected Tactical Satcom-Global program, known as PTS-G, which aims to use smaller

We may now know how Mercury gained its ice deposits NASA’s Scientific Visualization Studio Around 100 million years ago, the surface of Mercury suddenly underwent a dramatic change. Before then, its surface was relatively dry and ice-free – not surprising, as daytime temperatures there can reach upwards of 430°C (806°F) – but over the course

Quiz of the week: which UK university plans to shed almost 30% of its physics staff? – Physics World Skip to main content Discover more from Physics World Copyright © 2026 by IOP Publishing Ltd and individual contributors Read the original article here

WASHINGTON — Varda Space Industries completed its latest reentry mission May 18 as the company balances supporting pharmaceutical research and hypersonic testing. The capsule from Varda’s W-6 mission reentered early May 20, landing at the Koonibba Test Range in South Australia operated by Southern Launch. This was the fourth Varda capsule to land there in

The planar unit distance problem is about how many equal-sized lines you can draw that connect dots on an infinite sheet of paper Noga Alon et al. 2026, Open AI An 80-year-old maths conjecture that has eluded the world’s greatest mathematicians has been cracked by an artificial intelligence model built by OpenAI. The result has

Building a better laser on the Moon – Physics World Skip to main content Discover more from Physics World Copyright © 2026 by IOP Publishing Ltd and individual contributors Read the original article here

WASHINGTON — SpaceX filed documents for an initial public offering of stock May 20, revealing the company’s finances and enormous ambitions. The company filed its S-1 registration statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission after the markets closed. That document is a step towards one of the most anticipated IPOs in recent memory, expected

Hot flushes are associated with the menopause, but women actually get progressively hotter from the start of adulthood to midlife Dmitry Marchenko/Alamy Resting body temperature rises a little bit each year in women from the age of 18 to 42, for reasons that are still being figured out. The finding opens up the possibility of

Electron beams rearrange atoms in a 3D crystal – Physics World Skip to main content Discover more from Physics World Copyright © 2026 by IOP Publishing Ltd and individual contributors Read the original article here

WASHINGTON — The acting director of the Space Development Agency, Gurpartap “GP” Sandhoo, has been appointed to a dual role overseeing both the agency and a new U.S. Space Force acquisition office responsible for missile-warning satellite procurements. In the new assignment, Sandhoo will serve as director of SDA and as Portfolio Acquisition Executive, or PAE,